U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes Cybersecurity Bill On March 2, 2022

Introduction

While previous cybersecurity legislation has largely been unable to pass through Congress, the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act of 2022 was introduced by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI), and has been viewed as a priority as threats of cyber incidents continue to rise. The Senate unanimously passed the Act, which, in its current form, would require federal agencies and critical infrastructure operators to report cyberattacks within 72 hours to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Should the legislative package make it through the House unchanged, it would also require critical infrastructure companies to report ransomware payments within 24 hours. The Act combines language from the three bills Senators Portman and Peters have authored in the past – the Cyber Incident Reporting Act, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2021, and the Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act.